eurekapd Chapter 285 Coercion from the Crowd
Chapter 285 Coercion from the Crowd
Wei Jianning's face turned ashen in an instant, and he gripped Lan Zhi's shoulder with unusual force.
After the servants brought in the soft chair, he ordered it to be placed in the middle of the main hall, and then helped her sit down.
Lan Zhi felt something was amiss and whispered before sitting down:
"My husband, I'm not tired. I can stand. It's too impolite to sit down like this."
Wei Jianning, however, disregarded her presence and pressed her down onto the soft chair, loudly proclaiming:
"This is the Crown Prince's residence, our family's residence. Even if we were lying down, no one would dare to interfere."
He seemed to be speaking to her, but he was actually speaking to everyone present.
Although Lan Zhi felt this was inappropriate, with her own man backing her up, what was she afraid of?
She immediately sat down gracefully, looked at her man with an air of superiority, and gave him a gentle smile.
After settling Lan Zhi in, Wei Jianning turned to the Empress with a serious expression and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I'm making this clear today: no matter who Lan Zhi is, she is my wife, Wei Jianning's legal wife, and that will never change. If you insist on removing her from her position as Crown Princess, then let Father Emperor issue an imperial edict. Without the edict, I will not listen to anyone. If you have nothing else to say, please leave!"
His attitude was very firm, and his tone was very harsh, which not only embarrassed the Empress, but also angered Consort Liang.
"Ning'er, how dare you speak to Her Majesty the Empress? It's incredibly disrespectful."
Although Consort Liang's face showed anger, Wei Jianning replied without fear:
"You took advantage of my absence to force the woman who just gave birth to my son. Do you have any manners?"
"you……"
Consort Liang was rendered speechless by his question. The Empress frowned slightly, raised her hand to cover her mouth, cleared her throat, and with a sharp glint in her eyes, loudly reminded her:
“Ning’er, we all know that Lan Zhi has just given birth to a child for the royal family and is considered a meritorious official. But the rules left by the ancestors of the Northern Wei Kingdom cannot be broken, can they? The whole court and even the whole capital know about this. What do you want to do? Do you insist on going against the ancestral rules and the emperor’s will and continue to let this woman be the crown princess?”
Wei Jianning nodded firmly.
"If she stays, I stay; if she leaves, I leave."
These words were exactly what the Empress wanted to hear, and she immediately gave a smirk and reminded her:
“Ning’er, don’t be so absolute. This is not a child’s play, and it’s not something you can resolve with a little fuss.”
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble; everything I said is true.”
"Ning'er, don't do anything reckless."
Seeing that Wei Jianning wasn't joking, Consort Liang became anxious and quickly reminded him.
"Ning'er, you are the crown prince, the heir to the throne. How can you utter such treasonous and irresponsible words?"
"Then what does Mother Consort want me to say? I want you to know that I can grant your wish and depose Lan Zhi from her position as Crown Princess, is that right?"
“Ning’er, what you are doing is not to fulfill our wishes, but to give an explanation to the ancestors of the Northern Wei Kingdom and the people of the Northern Wei Kingdom. The Crown Princess is the future Empress of the country. This is not a trivial matter, nor is it child’s play. It should not be taken lightly.”
"So what? I just said that if anyone wants to remove her from the position of Crown Princess, I, the Crown Prince, will be removed as well."
His resolute attitude immediately enraged Consort Liang, turning her face ashen, while the Empress nodded with considerable satisfaction.
"I will return to the palace now to request an imperial decree. I believe that His Majesty has the ability to distinguish right from wrong."
Consort Liang wanted to speak up to stop her, but the Empress had already stood up. Before leaving, she reminded her:
"Your Highness, have you thought this through? If I issue an imperial decree, you must act in accordance with it. Do not regret it later."
Wei Jianning gave a firm snort.
"Your Majesty, please do as you wish. If I, Wei Jianning, am the Crown Prince, then Lan Zhi will be the Crown Princess. If I, Wei Jianning, am a commoner, then Lan Zhi will be a commoner. I, Wei Jianning, will never marry anyone other than Lan Zhi in this life. If anyone uses her status to blackmail me, I, Wei Jianning, will be ready to face the consequences."
His words deeply moved Lan Zhi. She knew he loved her, but she never expected that he would stand up to the Empress and the other concubines for her sake.
The Empress left, and the concubines also left, leaving only Consort Liang sitting there, looking at him with angry eyes.
After everyone had left, Consort Liang seemed to have something to say to Wei Jianning. She frowned, glanced at Madam Lin, and asked in surprise,
"Is there anything else, Madam Lin?"
Madam Lin hurriedly replied:
"I have a few words to say to the Crown Princess."
Consort Liang immediately waved her hand.
"Then please go outside and speak. I need to say a few words to Ning'er."
Without a second thought, Wei Jianning decisively refused:
"If Mother wishes to persuade me, there is no need to say more. No one can change my mind once I have made a decision."
His resolute attitude angered Consort Liang, making her face even more unpleasant. Lan Zhi quickly got up and pulled him away.
"Husband, Madam Lin and I will go outside to talk. You two can have a proper chat."
Wei Jianning lifted the hood of her cloak and put it on her, gently reminding her...
"You're still in your postpartum period, so you can't be exposed to drafts or get angry. Let's talk in the back hall!"
Lan Zhi smiled and nodded, then whispered a reminder:
"I understand. Please speak properly."
Regardless, Consort Liang was Wei Jianning's biological mother, and she didn't want them to have any unpleasantness because of her.
As soon as Madam Lin and Lan Zhi arrived at the side hall in the backyard, Madam Lin said impatiently:
"Your Highness, could you please part with those silver bells and give them back to me? I'll give you anything in exchange. I have some jewelry in my bag; you can choose any of it, or I'll give it all to you."
"Mrs. Lin..."
Lan Zhi called out to the somewhat agitated Madam Lin, and gave a helpless, bitter smile.
"As I just said, these silver bells were given to me by my eldest brother. I don't know exactly where he got them from, and he took them back to his hometown. If you want them back, you'll have to wait for him to come back."
It turned out that Ling Jiawei had returned to Yangzhuang Village with the pair of silver bells half a month ago. Lan Zhi didn't ask what he was going to do, but she guessed that her brother must be anxious to find out about her background.
Mrs. Lin was a little anxious.
"Then...when will he be back?"
"As expected, tonight or tomorrow!"
"But...but it's already late today, and he'll be back too late. It's inconvenient for me to leave the city."
"Are you leaving the city?"
Lan Zhi then realized that not only was she dressed simply today, but she was also carrying a bundle on her arm.
"Mrs. Lin, where are you going?"
Madam Lin smiled awkwardly, "I... I'll go where I need to go. As I just said, don't call me Madam Lin anymore, just call me Madam Feng."
Lan Zhi was still quite surprised, "You and Lord Lin..."
"We've divorced."
Peace and separation?
These two words greatly shocked Lan Zhi.
"For Lin Yuwei?"
This was the only reason she could think of for them to divorce.
Mrs. Lin nodded at first, then shook her head.
"Yes and no, there are many things that are hard to explain. Right now, I just want to get my daughter's belongings back as soon as possible, and then leave the capital to go where I belong. I hope you can grant my request."